Three former Union Bank of Switzerland–UBS–executives were convicted on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, as reported by NASDAQ. Peter Ghavami, Gary Heinz and Michael Welty were found guilty of fraud relating to bids to invest the proceeds from municipal bonds and other municipal finance contracts between 2001… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Michael
Judgment of Acquittal and Dismissal of Charges Against Seven Members of Hutaree Militia
Posted in Acquittal, indictmentLast week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted a judgment of acquittal in favor of seven members of the Hutaree militia, dismissing all charges against the defendants following the conclusion of the government’s case against them at trial, as reported by the Detroit Free Press. Tina Stone; David Stone, Jr.;… Continue Reading
Six Sentenced in Georgia for Reverse Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Posted in Mortgage and Foreclosure Fraud, SentencingImage source: my.opera.com/edwardpiercy/blog/2011/04/28/reverse-mortgage-no-jill-st-john-yes You’ve probably heard of reverse mortgages, pitched on television ads by celebrities such as Robert Wagner and Fred Thompson. The mortgages are part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Home Equity Conversion Program (HECP) which permits senior citizens aged 62 years or older to purchase a home or remain… Continue Reading
Harris County, Texas, Commissioner Faces Second Trial on Bribery and Other Charges Following Mistrial
Posted in Fraud, MistrialJerry Eversole, a Harris County (Houston), Texas, Commissioner, was charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas with conspiracy, accepting bribes and filing false income tax returns in 2003 and 2004. Eversole was alleged to have accepted $100,000 in gifts from a developer, Michael Surface, in exchange for being awarded County… Continue Reading
Tax Fraud on the Rise in Georgia–52,000 False Returns in 2010
Posted in Fraud, Tax FraudAccording to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the IRS found more than 52,000 fraudulent tax returns filed in Georgia in 2010, worth $41 million in refunds, an increase over the 29,000 fraudulent returns discovered in 2009 and the almost 16,000 returns in 2008. Last year, the Service and the Georgia Department of Revenue launched more than 20,000… Continue Reading
Federal Prosecutors Observe “No Touch” Ruling on Possible Retrial of San Diego Councilman for Alleged Honest Services Fraud; Former Alaska Chief of Staff to Have Honest Services Conviction Dismissed
Posted in FraudLast week was a good one for public officials charged with Federal crimes. First, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced that it would not seek a second trial of former San Diego Councilman Michael Zucchet on alleged honest services fraud charges pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1346, relating to political contributions… Continue Reading
Beazer Homes Executive and Alpharetta Resident Michael Rand Indicted in NC for Fraud
Posted in Fraud, Mortgage and Foreclosure FraudAs reported in the Charlotte Observer, Michael Rand, former Chief Accounting Officer for Beazer Homes USA and a resident of Alpharetta, Georgia, has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on 11 counts, including securities fraud, witness tampering and making false statements. Rand is alleged to have directed… Continue Reading
In-House Counsel to the Mob? Court Denies Government’s Motion to Disqualify Attorney Joseph Corozzo, Jr.
Posted in Disqualification, MiscellaneousAs reported by the New York Law Journal, Michael Scarpaci is current charged as an alleged associate of the Gambino crime organization in the Southern District of New York in an indictment charging racketeering violations, including murder, witness tampering, murder of a witness, extortion, narcotics and sex trafficking a minor. In a twist, however, Scarpaci’s… Continue Reading
Director of BOEMRE Announces Investigations and Review Unit and More Agressive Tactics to Investigate Companies Engaged in Offshore Drilling
Posted in Environmental CrimesIn response to the massive oil spill (over 19,000 square miles in area–or larger than the state of Maryland) in the Gulf of Mexico, on June 18, 2010, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued an order renaming the Minerals Management Service (MMS) the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE)…. Continue Reading